Louis L. McAllister Photographs

Louis L. McAllister photographed people and places near
Burlington, Vermont for 60 years. He was born in Columbus, Nebraska on
October 16, 1876, the son of Julius S. McAllister (born 1841 in Lincoln, VT)
and Rosette Gould (born in Vermont in 1851). Julius McAllister worked as a
photographer and dentist in Washington D.C., Bristol, Vermont and Columbus,
Nebraska. Around 1895, Julius, his third wife Amy, and their children left
Nebraska for the Union Soldiers’ Colony in Fitzgerald, Georgia. By 1900,
Julius and Amy were divorced, and Amy and her stepson Louis were working as
photographers in Thomasville, Georgia.

In 1907 Louis McAllister married Cora Shepard (born about 1872
in Vermont) in Holland, Michigan. By 1910, they were living in Queen City
Park in South Burlington, Vermont, where Louis established a photography
studio. The McAllisters moved to Burlington, and by 1919 they lived at 47 N.
Winooski Avenue. They continued to occupy a summer cottage at Queen City
Park, and were active in the Queen City Park Association, which held
spiritualist camp meetings annually. McAllister conducted his photography
business from home until his death in 1963.

McAllister’s “trademark” was his panorama camera which made him
familiar to all sorts of groups ranging from graduating classes to state
police to summer camp groups. In addition he did print 8 x 10 photos, many
of which document building construction and Burlington Street Department
projects, as well as group and individual portraits.

The L.L. McAllister Collection includes portraits, construction
projects, buildings, businesses and events in the Burlington area covering
the period ca. 1920-1960. The collection also includes photos of street,
bridge, airport and sewer construction and repair, as well as group
portraits of clubs, schools, etc.

1947 photo of the physical plant at Vermont Structural Steel, with track conveyors and pulleys for moving girders and other steel products. The sign for another business, Canada Dry Bottling Co., can be seen in the distance (although no such business is listed in the Burlington City directory of 1946 or '48).

Ca. 1951 photo of a shop at Vt. Structural Steel, where a cone-shaped structure is being made for a building or machine. Fashioning custom-made objects from steel was one of several services offered by Vt. Structural Steel.

1944 photo of several men standing in front of a Railway Express Agency (REA) truck while one points at publicity for the 3rd War Bond campaign. Identity of men unknown, but they are very likely administrators and employees of REA, which had headquarters at 111 St. Paul St., Burlington.

1944 photo of several men standing in front of a Railway Express Agency (REA) truck while one points at publicity for the 3rd War Bond campaign. Identity of men unknown, but they are very likely administrators and employees of REA, which had headquarters at 111 St. Paul St., Burlington.

1944 photo of a store window display promoting war bonds ("Buy an Extra U.S. War Bond Now!") and heralding the 4th War Loan (or fund raising) campaign. The display also pays tribute to Poland ("a Nation Bathed in Blood") and the strength of the Polish people. One poster has "an open letter to the unconquerable (?) Poles."